Although researchers and educators have made huge strides when it come to providing relevant help for children with autism and other learning disabilities, much work remains to be done. This is due to the fact that there is still a lot to learn about learning disabilities like autism, Asperger’s, and other spectrum disorders; and the American public needs to be more informed as well.
If you were to ask 100 random people on the street if they could define autism, you will be lucky to find more than a handful that could offer much more than they know it’s a learning disability. Actually, you would probably not find to many who even know that much about it. The fact is that unless you’re a doctor, scientist, or educator, you probably could not say too much about it, even if you heard of it and have some kind of idea what it is.
On the physiological level, autism is a neurological disorder that results from impeded development of specific nerve cells in the brain. Autism manifests itself through symptoms that feature decreased social communications skills. Children with autism tend to appear socially awkward, have trouble with interpersonal communication, and may ignore other people altogether. The degree to which these symptoms occur depends upon where a child falls on the autism spectrum. As such, autism is usually referred to as a “spectrum disorder.”
While the public needs to learn more about children with autism and other learning disabilities, the good news is that there are more special needs schools and resources for children with autism than ever. Since schools for children with autism are designed specifically to provide help for children with autism, students can get the lessons and opportunities that are most appropriate for them.
There are many different kinds of learning disabilities, and children with different types of learning disabilities are always better served by schools designed to accommodate their specific needs. The founding of more schools for children with learning disabilities is a good sign that our educational system is growing in a positive direction .